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1. Field of Invention
The invention is a low voltage ceiling or wall mounted light fixture for residential and commercial lighting, having included a plurality of high lumen white LED lights incorporated within the fixtures, a light color diffusion panel and a household current to low voltage DC converter within the fixture to convert the AC current to low voltage DC current, saving on the cost of power required to provide illumination for the resident or commercial application and virtually eliminating the need to replace incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, the LED lights having an average duration of over 150,000 hours.
2. Description of Prior Art
The following United States patents and publications were discovered and are incorporated and disclosed within this application for utility patent. All relate to LED lighting devices and technology.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,283 to Conway, et al., an LED lamp with a reflector and a multi-color adjuster is disclosed, the bulb having an Edison bulb base, which allows for the choice of color by turning knobs located on the sides of the bulb. A multi-colored LED lighting array is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,038 to Mueller, et al., this device having an LED light array of red, blue and green LEDs controlled by a computer programming means.
A low-tension lighting device is provided with one or more LEDs having a control circuit to produce a low consumption, long-life lighting source, the device having a conventional screw-type mounting base for connection to a standard light socket. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,837, an LED is included in a integrally formed linear strip, which would mainly be used for marking paths or to define a low lumen decorative edge lighting, but marginally useful for actual area illumination.
A method and apparatus for retrofitting a traffic signal lamp with an LED lamp module is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,268,801 to Wu and. This patent discloses a high lumen variation of an LED as traffic control devices must be seen in daylight from a fairly good distance. Two more LED light bulbs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,679 to Zhang, et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,830 to Ruskouski, these bulbs replacing conventional bulbs with arrays of LED lights. A luminaire is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,774 to Begemann, et al., which describes the use of LEDs for exterior illumination. It mentions specifically using LED arrays for street lights, floodlights and other types of outdoor lighting, describing specific types and styles of fixtures and their general design. This patent discloses that LEDs can be used for high-lumen lighting, referencing only the quantity of illuminating lumens without specifics as to quality of illumination, mainly concerning with spot lighting illumination.
A white light-emitting diode and method of manufacture is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,163,038 to Chen, et al. This type of white light LED is preferred as the LED utilized in the present invention, which incorporates a plurality of white light LEDs into each fixture variation of the present invention.
Several other publications refer to LED technology and lighting, although not addressing the specific nature of the present invention. In an educational article found at http://www.Irc.rpi.edu/futures/LF-LEDs/index.html by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Lighting Futures xe2x80x9cLEDs: From Indicators to Illumination?xe2x80x9d, Volume 3 Number 4, 1998, a discussion is held regarding the future use of LED""s for general purpose lighting, if only the bright white LEDs would ever become available.
In Technology Review, September/October 2000, an article entitled xe2x80x9cLEDs Light the Futurexe2x80x9d, by Neil Savage, future use of LEDs for general lighting is also discussed. However, at that time, high lumen output LEDs produced a very bland white light. Unlike normal white light, which is a combination of all the light of the visible spectrum, white LEDs produce only a very narrow band of visible light output, resulting in a very dull and grey white light. Color perception under this lighting is quite poor.
A bright light LED desk lamp is displayed in an advertisement for a photon lamp, the web site located at http://www.photonlamp.com/. This lamp uses bright white LED lighting using a Nickel Metal Hydride battery pack with a solar module recharger allowing the lamp to be used for up to 3 hours per charge, with a 100,000 hours of usage on the light bulbs, with an optional 115 VAC wall cube operation and recharger for the batter pack.
Ultrabright Light Emitting Diodes are used for railroad lighting replacements of incandescent bulbs in an article for RailwayLights.com, wherein LED light arrays are used to replace conventional railway lights supplied in blue, yellow, red and green light replacements, focusing on the lowered radiation output, the longer life and the lowered electrical usage of these replacement lights.
The primary objective of the invention is to provide an indoor lighting fixture utilizing a plurality of bright white LEDs to produce a high lumen output ceiling light fixture utilizing a small portion of the electricity required to illuminate a conventional lighting fixture.
A secondary objective of the invention is to provide the indoor lighting fixture utilizing a plurality of bright white LEDs to produce a high lumen output ceiling light fixture which does not require replacement of any bulbs or lighting tubes during the reasonable life of the fixture.
A third objective of the invention is to provide the light fixture with an AC/DC power converter in the fixture having an input for an emergency power supply including an automobile battery or other DC battery backup source, allowing for several fixtures to be daisy-chained for full residential and commercial illumination in the event of a power outage or shortage.
A fourth objective of the invention is to provide the light fixture with separate DC power input and output, allowing the fixture not only to be operated with available DC power, but to allow for the hook up of several fixtures in series for residential and commercial illumination, hooking one light fixture to another, operating several units on a single low voltage DC power supply. In addition, alternative power supplies, including solar cell, wind turbine, and water wheel generators could provide the low voltage DC power supply since these fixtures are quite energy efficient
LED lighting has several advantages over conventional lighting, including incandescent and fluorescent lighting. With incandescent bulbs, almost 85% of the energy used in the bulb is given off as heat making them quite inefficient as a light source. Due to their design, these bulbs have a very short lifespan and require frequent replacement. A great deal of light fixture design is concerned with protection from heat or requiring the incorporation of small low wattage low lumen bulbs, due to the excessive heat produced by conventional incandescent bulbs. Conventional incandescent fixtures are designed with concern for heat, bulb replacement access, bulb size and code requirements for 110 volt and 220 volt AC wiring.
Dimmer switches used on incandescent fixtures have a high level of resistance and, as result, also can give off huge amounts of heat due to the resistance of the 115 volt household current. Fires and electrocutions are possible with conventional lighting fixtures and wiring.
With fluorescent lamps, 110 or 220 volt current is still required and they are operated by very expensive ballasts, which do not withstand time or exposure to heat. They are long and cumbersome to replace, and if they explode due to slight contact, they can become quite dangerous, with sharp, flying glass fragments. Fluorescent bulbs generally cannot be dimmed, although some are equipped with a dimmer, tend to flicker, which is disturbing to a user. Some fluorescent bulbs are equipped with Edison light bulb attachments, but these are usually bigger than their incandescent replacement subjects and can disrupt the fixture to which they are applied.
With the present invention, the advantages associated with the incorporation of the bright white LEDs into the fixture lie in the energy efficiency of the lighting, producing the same amount of visible area lighting using a mere fraction of the energy as incandescent and fluorescent bulbs. Using the color spectrum diffusion element over the bright white LEDs produces a color enhanced light giving such LED light the same character as conventional lighting. LED bulbs have a much greater lifespan, thereby making the bulbs in the fixture virtually free from replacement, allowing the direct incorporation of the LEDs into the fixture, providing a much more flexible use without concern over excessive heat, bulky bulbs or replacement access, such LEDs providing in excess of 100,000 hours of light. Additionally, emergency lighting can be gained using the household lighting and a DC battery, including hooking your household lighting into a car cigarette lighter for emergency household lighting during a power outage or shortage. Adaptation to existing solar power is also an available option for this low consumption lighting system and fixture.